US stocks ended barely higher on Tuesday as oil prices rose and investors tried to anticipate the economic fallout from Hurricane Ivan as it moved through the Gulf of Mexico toward a possible landfall in the United States.
Oil companies plucked thousands of workers from offshore rigs in the gulf, home of about a quarter of US oil and gas output, and shut down some production.
Still, some stocks gained. Home Depot Inc, ChevronTexaco Corp and Exxon Mobil Corp all touched 52-week highs.
Home Depot reached $38.20 before closing up nearly 2 percent at $38.14, ChevronTexaco hit a high of $51.49 before closing up 28 cents at $51.22, and Exxon Mobil touched a 52-week high of $47.78 before closing at $47.47, down 3 cents.
And internet stocks, led by Ask Jeeves Inc, Amazon.com Inc and Yahoo Inc, rose on indications that third-quarter results might hit the high end of targets and on a surprise boost in August online retail sales.
"The big talk today has obviously been Ivan, and what industries are going to be affected - insurance, commerce, oil, whatever," said Brian Williamson, vice president of equity trading at The Boston Co Asset Management.
"Is it going to be distribution centers in Houston, or oil rigs in the gulf or direct hits in Louisiana where there's a lot of commerce?"
The Dow Jones industrial average was up 3.40 points, or 0.03 percent, at 10,318.16. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index finished up 2.51 points, or 0.22 percent, at 1,128.33. The technology-laced Nasdaq Composite Index gained 5.02 points, or 0.26 percent, at 1,915.40.
US light crude climbed 53 cents to $44.40 a barrel. Crude futures were just $5 from the record high $49.40 struck on August 20.
Shares in McDonald's Corp rose 1.6 percent to $27.60 after the fast-food chain raised its annual dividend by 38 percent.
Allied Waste Industries Inc fell 9 percent to $9.30 after the No 2 US waste hauler cut its 2004 earnings forecast for the second time in three months.
Shares in Office Depot Inc fell 6.8 percent to $15.10 after the firm said its third-quarter and full-year profits would fall short of Wall Street estimates due to disruptions from two earlier hurricanes.
Shares of discount retail chain Kmart Holdings Corp rose after UBS raised its price target on the discount retail chain to $101 a share, from $85 a share. The stock was up $3.66, or 4.3 percent, to $89 on Nasdaq.
Shares of Kroger Co, the No 1 US grocer, fell 72 cents, or 4 percent, to $15.98 after Kroger posted a lower quarterly profit.
Pier 1 Imports Inc rose 6 percent to $18.90 after the home-furnishings retailer said quarterly profit fell more than 40 percent but forecast better results for the rest of the year. Ask Jeeves, an Internet search company, rose $3.46 to $30.46; Yahoo climbed $1.33 to $33.20; Amazon jumped $2.66 to $42.67; eBay Inc was up $2.31 at $94.41 and Google Inc rose $3.99 to $111.49.
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